Hungry Peddler

Longtime family favorite. All of us have one or two favorite meals. Service is always great and super fast. My only complaint is that if you get seated by the kitchen you sometimes end up smelling like grease for the rest of the day.

Went to dinner with my parents and boyfriend. Ordered different dinners, dad ordered Cole slaw and was sick the entire evening and day after. Oh, and my boyfriend’s burger came with a lovely strand of blond hair. Thanks for ruining a great restaurant. No stars.

May not look like much, but seriously the BEST pan fried catfish I have ever eaten! Great service and very reasonable.

This is where the locals eat. Great food for any meal. Great prices and the best staff in the area. Hands down best fried fish within 100 miles. Great steaks, broiled fish, breakfast, and the hamburgers and other sandwiches are all good. Really nothing bad on the menu. My kids love the kiddie cocktails with the kids meal. I love the 25 cent refills.

Good brandy old-​fashioned, decent fish, cool looking place

While visiting family in Wisconsin, we saw the Hungry Peddler and decided to stop in for breakfast on a Sunday. There was about a 20 minute wait, so we left and came back instead of waiting there.
When we got back, we were promptly seated in the dining room which was decorated in a really cozy old-​timey theme, and greeted almost immediately by a very friendly waitress armed with the coffee urn.
The soda pop comes in cans with a glass of ice, and the bloody mary I ordered comes with a glass of beer (a Wisconsin tradition – surprise!) and a condiment rack so you can spice it up yourself with worcestershire, cholula, tabasco, and celery salt. The pickle and lemon slice is standard.
I ordered the Denver omelet and my husband ordered the cinnamon french toast with sausage patty and American fries. I gave the omelet five stars for flavor and portion size, even if it was a little greasy. The American fries were soooo good, with just the right balance of tenderness and crisp! My hubby said his meal was excellent as well.
Our waitress was really on-​point with service and just had a really friendly and disarming attitude that made us really comfortable off the bat. Overall, our breakfast for two (including bloody mary and tip) was just about $ 25.
This place really seems like a local favorite, and I can see why! We overheard lots of conversations between waitresses and patrons that seemed to know each other and it gave a charming, small town feel to the place. We will definitely be back every time we visit LaCrosse!

Consistent. Clean. Fresh made food. These are the words of the Hungry Peddler. My son and I just had a great breakfast and it was perfect. He is kinda of a picky eater and he INHALED his food. Great job to the staff for accommodating our short schedule. Can’t wait to come back and eat again!!!

Interesting historical décor, worth taking a close peek at while you wait for dinner, which comes fast. Steak, potato, salad and an excellent old fashioned will cost you about $ 20. Service is friendly as is the crowd, come with an appetite by yourself, friends or family, you will be welcome and well fed.

Great old-​timey place. French onion soup is excellent! Cheese steak sandwich was huge; tender beef. Coffee was hot, and the service was great. Check it out!

Was recommend for lunch mid afternoon on Saturday. Only 2 other tables when we came and they left soon after. The French Onion soup was good, not stellar, but above average. My wife had Vegetable Teriyaki with Shrimp and said it was very good. I ordered the Philly Beef & Cheese and added mushrooms. I was very disappointed with the sandwich. The mushrooms had an earthy flavor which overpowered the sandwich. As for the meat, the menu says «Tender sliced beef» which turned out to be deli meat, the kind that had that slightly slimy feel and taste.
The portions were generous and we both took home over ½ of our order.
The did start out with a bread basket which had delicious toasted garlic bread.
We ordered a coke and diet coke. They came in cans, which was interesting for a place with a full service bar.

Good food, great environment and the staff is awesome. The locals raved about it so we had to try it. I enjoyed the prime rib hash and the coffee was good. For beer enthusiasts this place is covered in old beer bottles/​steins and beer art. I loved it.

I ate here for breakfast a few weeks ago when my husband and I were in town. They have a pretty basic selection of breakfast items. If you want a bloody they bring you a glass of plain tomato juice/​vodka and then all the fixings to build up your own drink, just the way you like. This is the only reason I gave them three stars instead of two.
The place is definitely dirty. I was surprised I didn’t get a stomach-​ache because after I saw the bathroom I did not want to imagine the kitchen.

Kinda like a budget-​Cracker Barrel but without trinkets and souvenirs barraging your very entrance. I like it. Food is good. Service is great.

Good food and reasonable prices. I have eaten here numerous times growing up and still stop in time to time. Most times I stop in I am in and out quicker then the fast food places spending only a little more money and getting a much better burger! They also have a great breakfast and good dinners as well.

This is a great, old, little place. The old décor and carpet make it pretty rustic. There is a full bar with a dining room.
Based on Unilocal reviews and the boasting of the wait staff that claimed they have the best French onion soup, I tried it. THE FRENCH ONION SOUP IS AMAZING! It’s very cheesy.
I was glad I ordered the half order of lasagna. The portion sizes are pretty big. My sister got a hamburger and it was pretty massive.
A friend got the Reuben, but that was disappointing. They put three slices of bread to make it look like a big sandwich, but it’s a lot of sauerkraut and bread. Very minimal corned beef.
They have a beer they’re known for, the Peddler Frau. That’s a pretty good German beer. I’d recommend it.
The service, if you are not from Wisconsin, may be a little off-​puting if you don’t understand their sass. I think it’s great.
Lastly, and a big reason I can’t give 5-​stars is because of the bathroom location. I would hate to be seated next to one of them, but walking in between 2 tables to get there and conduct your business feet away from other customers.

Food is usually excellent. Service not so much. We went in once and they were packed, they let us know it would be about a half hour. We very politely thanked her but let her know we were in a rush. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. A bit childish to me. Another time we had gone in we ordered out and sat by the bar area. All we could hear is 2 employees bickering about another girl that was out serving tables and another guy sitting by the kitchen on his phone. I want this place to be good… I truly do, but the staff need a readjustment in my eyes

I’ve been there twice, once for breakfast and once for lunch. Both times the server was very friendly and helpful. The food was good both times as well. I’m sure I’ll be back again.

Great food, fast service ! This place is busy for a Wednesday morning at 10:00. Have the Prime Rib Hash with eggs, excellent !! Would come back here for sure.

This place does not claim to be anything but a hole-​in-​the-​wall homestyle midwestern meat and potatoes joint where the waitresses wear t-​shirts and jeans and a couple of the dishes are advertised as marinated in «light Italian dressing.» Food snobs beware, if you overlook the Hungry Peddler, you will passover some Americana and some decent food and people watching. Plus, the place has some historic charm – with antiques littering the dining room (with no smugness).
The french onion soup is scrumptious and reminds me of the same soup I ate at dimly lit supper clubs when I was a kid. A dining partner had similar praise regarding the clam chowder. Blackened catfish was better than expected at a fair price. A friend enjoyed the boneless pork chop, which he noted to be thick, tender and lean. Everything was Wisconsin-​sized portions, which I’ve pretty much come to expect in La Crosse! The service was friendly and a little sassy, which was perfect. Yes, the tables are snug and adjacent to the glaring light of the kitchen, but have some forgiveness – this place is a little gem.
Looking forward to returning for breakfast or with out of town guests to share with them a «piece of La Crosse.»

Don’t waste your time and especially your money. The food is very blah. I was expecting more of a home cooked feel with pot roast and pot pies with the name hungry peddler. We were seated in front of the mens room which started the meal off on a bad note. They serve free home made croutons as an appetizer which my teething daughter enjoyed.
I had the fish sandwich because it was the special. Sorry this is not even close to the best fried fish. It said it was served on french bread which it was not. The fries were frozen and the worst I have had in a while.
My husband had a hamburger and chili (strange combo but we are always searching for great chili). The hamburger was over cooked and tasteless my husband said he’d rather had Wendy’s chili which he normally hates! My son’s chicken fingers were OK and he actually ate them all.
Service was good but that can’t make up for the meal.
Another disappointing meal in La Crosse.